October 2011 - 1st half

As I mentioned last month, although the Legislature will not meet until January, the Capitol is very busy with meetings of interim committees and other groups planning legislation. Also, now that schools are back in session, groups of school children are touring the Capitol. Interim committees have a deadline of October 25 to submit proposed bills to Legislative Council for approval. This is not based on whether the content of the bills is desirable, but it ensures that bills adhere to the specific purposes of the interim committee. These bills will be posted on the Legislative Council website, along with summaries of the committee meetings. Task forces that are not official interim committees are more difficult to track. Below are brief summaries of recent meetings of the other task forces I serve on.  

 

The ECSR met for the first time since 2009 on Sept. 15, 2011. Sen. Hodge, formerly the Vice Chair, assumed the position of Chair (because leadership transferred to the Senate for this year). Rep. Massey was elected as Vice Chair (because the former Chair, Rep. Solano, was not reappointed to the ECSR). We had presentations about the Early Childhood Leadership Commission and other groups working on early childhood issues. We reviewed the requirements for Colorado to apply for the federal Early Learning Challenge Grant, which could bring in $60 million over the next 4 years. Finally, we re-examined the law governing the ECSR and agreed that it should continue to meet and  to hold the other 5 meetings required for this year. We accepted the offer of the Colorado Children’s Campaign to provide staffing for the commission.

 

The EOPR met for the third time this year on Sept. 23.  We had an update on poverty in Colorado: It increased 3.2% over the last decade, with an increase from 4% to 7% of the state population covered by Medicaid, a 2.4% decrease in access to health insurance, and a 5.1% decrease in children covered by health insurance. We began a discussion about how to eliminate or ameliorate the “cliff effect,” which is the term for what happens when public supports for things like child care and housing end abruptly because of a small increase in wages. The task force’s four working groups – Workforce Readiness, Access to Benefits, Metrics, and Housing and Utilities – met to decide what areas they would like the EOPR to focus on this year.

 

This subcommittee of the Drug Policy Task Force (a subcommittee of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice) was convened to identify, assess, and select evidence-based prevention strategies and models that law enforcement and the criminal justice system can use. These models will address local needs and engage community partners to increase high school graduation rates, reduce substance abuse, and reduce the number of juveniles involved in the criminal justice system. We determined that our recommendations will include the following: (1) Invest in gathering accurate and relevant data through tools like the annual youth risk survey and those used in juvenile assessment centers; (2) encourage the use of proven programs, practices, and policies in juvenile assessment and substance abuse prevention; and (3) support the standardization and expansion of juvenile diversion programs.

 

These are some of the things I’ve done as your State Senator since my last newsletter:

·         Participated in the second meeting of the Transportation Legislation Review Committee.

·         Met with the Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee to discuss SB 11-70, a bill I sponsored in the last session, and determine next steps for passing the bill in the future.

·         Gave a legislative update at the Arvada Chamber’s Third Friday Issues Breakfast.

·         Participated in the monthly meeting of the Education Working Group, a subcommittee of the Juvenile Justice Task Force.

·         Held my monthly Town Hall Meeting, focusing on transportation issues.

·         Spoke to residents of the Arvada Estates Senior-Living Community about legislative issues.

·         Participated in the fourth meeting of the Legislative Task Force to Study School Discipline.

·         Attended the Metro North Chamber’s quarterly Development Breakfast to hear the panel discussion about metro area housing.

·         Went to a briefing about Medicare and Social Security by AARP Colorado.

·         Went to the second-ever meeting of the Jeff-West Community Forum.

·         Chaired the September meeting of the Economic Opportunity Poverty Reduction Task Force.

·         Attended a meeting of the Prevention Subcommittee of the Drug Policy Task Force.

·         Participated in the third meeting of Educational Success Task Force.

·         Spoke on a panel at a community meeting presented by Colorail.